We want to continue our series leading up to our 250 year celebration of America.
In the musical 1776, John Adams sings a song called,
“Is Anybody There” It is a great song that Sherman Edwards composed.
The song starts out with these three questions.
Is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see?
I’m sure, many people have asked themselves these three questions.
Even though Adams was asking himself these questions, because he was at his wits end about freedom and the fight for independence, but because he knew the importance of freedom, he kept the flame alive. But you have to ask yourself, “What was it like for him to stand alone?” Today I think we all ask ourselves the same questions. We all go through times when we feel like we are all alone. We feel like nobody cares or even sees us. We could be in a room filled with people and yet, we feel all alone. We feel like no one cares about us. Loneliness is a hard place to be. Sometimes it’s true that we are all alone and no one cares and then maybe, we feel this way because of other reasons. We may suffer from depression, we may feel that we do not fit in with the crowd for one reason or another, a feeling of being inadequate. All of this can begin to affect your physical health, let alone your mental health. In the movie, Adams begins to talk to his wife as if she was there. It is so important to talk to someone about such feelings. Of course, it helps when the person is with you and not just in your thoughts. John Adams wanted to be not only seen, but heard. He wanted others to feel the same way he did about the cause. It’s important to have people who care about the same thing you do. It is hard to stand alone on an issue. We all need support. We all need people to believe in what we believe in. There is for sure strength in numbers. We want people to see things the way we see them. But John Adams felt all alone. He goes on with the song: They say John give up the fight! Those three questions that John asked in desperation only led to this verse, “John give up the fight.” We must never give up the fight. We can never lose hope in what we hope for. When you give up hope you give up life and this is a sad scenario. It was a good thing that John Adams did not give up the fight. He found that staying the course and fighting the good fight that his fellow congressmen all came around to see things his way.
The song continues to say, “Still, to England, I say: ‘Good night, forever good night!’ For I have crossed the Rubicon. Let the bridge be burned behind me! Come what may, come what may. Commitment! The croakers all say we’ll rue the day. There’ll be hell to pay in fiery purgatory. Through all the gloom, I see the rays of ravishing light and glory! I see fireworks! I see the pageant and pomp and parade. I hear the bells ringing out. I hear the cannons roar. I see Americans – all Americans. Free forever more. How quiet, how quiet the chamber is. How silent, how silent the chamber is.”
John Adams had a vision where all people would be free. Yes, all people! Unfortunately for the sake of freedom and this new land he had to concede about slavery. In life we find that not all people agree with us, but for the sake of moving forward we must at times concede. John Adams would have liked to have seen America today because Abraham Lincoln did free the slaves. Yes, we have many issues and problems, but we still have our freedom and we must keep going forward to make progress. The men who signed the Declaration of Independence faced significant consequences for their actions, including death, imprisonment, and the loss of homes and fortunes. While nine died from war-related hardships and five were captured and tortured to death, others had their homes burned, lost property, and some even died penniless. We know that without their commitment we would not be free today. All those who died for freedom all these 250 years must not have died in vain. We must continue to see what our forefathers saw and believed, and we must continue to not only keep America free but to bring that freedom to all those around the world. If you are feeling lonely and you feel no one cares or even sees you, remember John Adams, asked the same questions. Never give up. Always look ahead and never behind, because people do care and they do see and you are never alone because God is with you, and in your faith, you will see that there are people who do care about you.
We hope that you will continue with our 4 part series as we look at Famous Women of America
